Future Dairy Farm Employment in New Zealand - An Application of the Human Capability Framework

Abstract

The dairy industry is New Zealand's top export earner ($7.06 billion for year ended 30 June 2002). It generated 23 per cent of merchandise exports, and contributed some 7 percent of New Zealand's GDP. However, employment in the farm part of this major sector of the economy has been and is problematic. This article presents the outcomes of a Dairy InSight research project, no. 10015/2003. It provides a view of the future employment situation of the New Zealand dairy farming industry. The project sought to establish the future employment needs of the industry from a study of the future dairy farm labour market; to estimate future labour required and available; and to provide a full discussion of factors affecting those estimates. The report on which this article is based was intended to provide a foundation document for any future studies of work and employment in dairy farming. The research strategy adopted was to use the Human Capability Framework (HCF) (Tipples, 2004) to analyse the future dairy farm labour market. The use of the HCF to analyse the future dairy farm employment situation was implemented by a systematic consideration of each of the elements contributing to the supply side (Capacity), to the demand side (Opportunity), and the bringing of those both together (Matching), the three main components of the HCF. Statistical resources were reviewed and found distinctly wanting. Other documentary sources were considered, expert opinions canvassed, and key sites and parties visited, to facilitate the industry wide analysis. All components of the analysis, together with practical recommendations, were put together in a single report, which was submitted to Dairy InSight, the public good funder of the industry. To keep this article to the prescribed length, the primary focus is on factors influencing the future capacity of the dairy farming workforce. This is the most original part of our report and is based on primary sources, unlike the remainder which is largely derived from secondary sources. The future opportunities becoming available and the matching of capacity with opportunities are treated relatively briefly.